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August 2013 was a great month for me as a I saw seven countries on four continents, flew South African Business Class, the brand new British Airways 787 and A380 in Club World, and Malaysia Airlines First Class on the A380.
And because all that flying was too safe, I jumped off these in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa.
MileValue had a strong month too. There are now 2,291 geniuses following @milevalue on twitter, 3,318 mavens who are fans of MileValue on facebook, and 2,731 beautiful people who receive one daily email of the day’s posts. Subscribe to milevalue.com by email!
What were the best posts, most interesting trip reports, and most popular pages of August 2013?
Most Popular Pages
The Award Booking Service continued to thrive.
My Free Credit Card Consultations continued to offer personalized answers to which card is best for a particular trip.
Trip Reports
Tahsir: Trip Report: EVA Air Business Class from Los Angeles to Taipei
Scott: First Look at the British Airways A380 in First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy
Ryan: Trip Report: Lufthansa First Class Terminal
Most Popular Posts
The biggest news last month was the apparent massive devaluation of American Airlines miles through the addition of fuel surcharges to all awards. As the full story came out, it was apparent that it was all a big mistake, so the final headline was Update: No News Regarding American Airlines Miles Today. But I didn’t buy the press release from American Airlines: Two Reasons I Don’t Believe the American Airlines Statement about Fuel Surcharges on Awards.
For most of the month, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express had a 30,000 Starpoint sign up bonus (currently 25,000), so I wrote a series of very popular posts on the card and program:
- Starwood Preferred Guest Primer and Three Great Uses for the Starpoints
- How to Get 10 Nights in Hawaii and First Class Flights for Free
- A Chance to “Buy” Starpoints for 1.1 Cents: Starwood Cash & Points Awards
I covered the deals married folks (and others with permanent travel companions) can take advantage of better than us single folks in Will You Marry Me?
I described How I Saved 88% on My Hotel Room in Stockholm. Easy to Replicate Techniques for Huge Hotel Discounts.
I covered the lucky receivers of the “We Invite You to Experience American Airlines Gold Status” Emails.
Bill debunked another award booking “rule,” so that you can maximize your miles in Debunked Award Rule: US Airways Star Alliance Hub Stopover.
I speculated about US Airways entry into oneworld’s effect on fuel surcharges: Will US Airways to onewolrd Mean Avios to Europe without Fuel Surcharges?
And I covered some buy miles deals: Buy US Airways Miles for 1.88 Cents and TACA Miles for 1.5 Cents. Worth It?
September 2013 has been even better than August, so look for a September recap next week!
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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